


Bloom

by shipambrosia_bree



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/M, Flower Power, Gen, Nora X Ren, Renora, except qrow, for the number 1 renora shipper lol, have some shipping material for the best canon ship in rwby, its valentines day, qrow also gets to talk, team sloth, this was a birthday gift
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 09:13:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17784635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shipambrosia_bree/pseuds/shipambrosia_bree
Summary: Ren was the one who shrouded his emotions. She was the bubbly one, the one that made everyone smile. But the encounter with Cordovin, and then the attack on Argus, reminded Nora of the things she was still trying to forget.





	Bloom

**Author's Note:**

> This was a birthday present for the always incredible, amazing, radiant @alissadorintan. Also known as the Number 1 fan of Renora.  
> Also its Valentine's Day so I figured it was a good day to post this. I haven't written or posted for RWBY in such a long time, so I was extremely happy that she loved it so much!

  It was a long ride from Argus to Atlas.

  Nora just couldn’t find herself falling asleep. Everyone else around her had. 

  Ruby, Weiss, and Yang had all gathered around Blake and fallen asleep in that position, having comforted her as she explained everything that occurred in facing Adam. He had stalked her - he had been stalking her, along with the rest of them, since they had left Mistral. He had probably been on the train with them, and they hadn’t noticed.

  Jaune and Ren were leaned up against one another beside her, both boys snoring softly with Oscar on Jaune’s other side, sleeping propped up on the back of Maria’s chair. It felt like the first time in forever that Nora smiled, really smiled, not from relief that everyone was still alive. Of course that was still true, but she smiled now because she hadn’t seen everyone she loved looking so peaceful in such a long time.

  And when she looked out the window at the stars, she didn’t see any terrifying, circling, flying Grimm, nor the sight of White Fang assaulting them from Atlas military ships. For once she looked up at the skies, and they were clear.

  She was still haunted by what had occurred at Beacon Academy. Nora was still herself, still loved to laugh and smile and talk a million words a minute and she still got a kick out of sending things flying with her Magnhild, but something in her had still changed, she couldn’t ignore it. Something in her had changed after Beacon fell, and after they lost Pyrrha. Something had changed after returning to Kuroyuri and fighting the same Grimm that had taken so much from them. Something had changed in her after learning of Professor Lionheart’s betrayal and alliance with Salem. Not to mention something in her had definitely changed after they learned what they had from Jinn about Ozpin.

  But in this moment, the stars twinkled so sweetly that it seemed all of that was what it had been only a few years ago; distant fairy tales.

  Nora jumped a bit when she felt a hand gently grasp hers. She looked up to find Ren’s mesmerizing eyes on her as he smiled so tenderly. She could immediately feel herself growing flustered. His attention, and his praise, had always sent her heart fluttering and her knees to jelly long before they had gotten together. Now the fact that they were dating was almost just a bonus.

  “You should get some sleep, Nora,” he commanded, but in a kind voice.

  “And miss this beautiful view? Not a chance,” she said.

  “Nora,” his voice got a bit harsher, and his smile had faltered somewhat. “Please.”

  She gave a soft sigh and looked away from his gaze. “I’ll sleep when we get to Atlas,” she mumbled. “I can’t fall asleep.”

  Ren’s gaze softened, and he squeezed her hand a little bit tighter.

  “What is it? Something’s wrong, I can tell.”

  “It’s nothing in particular,” she looked out toward the night sky again. “Just that seeing those Grimm circling toward Argus reminded me of Beacon.”

  Ren was silent for a moment, before he answered. “Yes, it reminded me of that night too.”

  “Obviously the end was quite different, but the feeling is still the same,” she felt a lot of her feelings gushing forward before she could stop them. “I wouldn’t trade any of the family I have now for the world, Ren, but I miss when the stakes weren’t life and death. When we had fun while studying at Beacon. I miss Pyrrha, and the good times we had with her. Remember that food fight we had with her and Jaune and everyone else? That was the time of my life.”

  “Being normal Hunters would’ve still meant the stakes were life and death, Nora,” she could hear him chuckle. “But I get what you mean. I miss Pyrrha, too. Seeing her statue in Argus? That brought back so many memories… sad ones, but all the good times too. Things weren’t so serious then. Of course, I was still serious.”

  When she didn’t respond, or laugh in response, Ren leaned forward and took her other hand. “Hey, Nora. Would you look at me?”

  She complied, and found him smiling at her again. “I can’t stand to see you like this. You’re the brightest star in the sky.”

  If she had been standing up, she was sure she would’ve fallen flat on her ass. Nora put a hand to her cheek. It was incredibly hot now and a smile she couldn’t control bloomed. “Well how can I stay being a bummer after you say something like _that_?”

  She could tell he was pleased with the results of his work the way his intense eyes lightened. Ren tugged both of her hands toward him, gently guiding Nora beside him. On Ren’s other shoulder, Jaune continued to snore away, not bothered or woken by their conversation. Nora knew that Qrow and Maria were both probably listening, but hadn’t spoken a word and she was grateful for it.

  “I know that what happened in Kuroyuri was just as hard for you as it was for me,” he said to her once she had settled in beside him, with his arms wrapped around her.

  “That’s not true! You lost your parents there. The only thing I lost was the streets that I slept in.”

  “But you could’ve lost your life,” Ren had grown solemn once again. “We were young, Nora, and we could’ve died. That’s something that is hard for adults to deal with, let alone children. We were surrounded by death, and if it wasn’t death, it was certainly more than enough things that wanted to kill us.”

  She shook her head gently, but didn’t reply.

  Ren gave a bit of a sigh, before continuing. “I know you experienced a lot then too, and I know you hide all the years of pain behind your personality. I was always too scared to say anything before, but I’m not anymore. Because that night in Kuroyuri with Jaune and Ruby... I saw it. I saw that young girl that I promised I would never let get hurt again, trembling as she begged me to keep myself together. To stay alive for her. That was the moment I knew I couldn’t hide how I felt for her any longer either, because she is the world to me and the thought of any other man making her happier than I could hurts more than anything a Grimm could do to me.”

 Nora felt her eyes begin to water a bit as he spoke softly to her, disbelief at what she was hearing. Of course she knew, she knew the instant he grabbed her hand and kept her close after they had been rescued from Kuroyuri. She had always been uncertain if he felt the same way as her, but that was the moment she knew it was different. This moment, here and now, was a nice reminder though.

  Her eyes widened as she felt something soft and gentle pressed against the top of her head, her entire face heating up at Ren’s unexpected act of affection. He held her just a little bit tighter as he placed a chaste kiss on her, enjoying the smell of her hair and having her so close.

  “So when you’re hurt, or scared, please come to me Nora,” he continued. “All I ever do is worry about you. When I saw Cordovin hit you, when I saw your Aura fizzle away... it was terrifying. I need to know you’re okay right now.”

  “Okay,” she answered. “I’m not right now. But I will be, because we’re here with everybody, and everyone’s safe. Blake went through something incredibly hard and painful, and I’m scared for her, but we’re all here together now,” she looked up at him, smiling gratefully. “And I will be as long as I’ve got you around.”

  Ren nodded a little. “And I, you.”

  “I’m really not tired though. But I don’t mind lying here with you.”

  He figured that was the best he could get out of  her, appearing grateful that he could at least get her to realize that she didn’t need to hide how she felt from everyone; or at the very least, that she shouldn’t hide her feelings from him, that he wanted to know what hurt her and wanted to be there for her. She was surprised, but also very glad, that he had seen through her bubbly exterior and knew she had always been burdened by what happened in Kuroyuri just as much as he had. But that he also knew her happiness, her cheerfulness, wasn’t a lie. It wasn’t just a front, it was how she coped with the darkness. She truly always was happiest around the people she cared about. They were all her family now.

  And she was more than happy to have Ren.

  “Nobody else would’ve ever gotten me, you know,” she hummed softly.

  He gave a soft chuckle. “Hindsight has perfect vision, Nora.”

  “Not to intrude on your sweet moment,” Qrow’s gravelly voice cut into the night. They looked up to find the older Huntsman slightly twisted in his seat, looking toward them. “But if you two aren’t going back to sleep, would you mind waking up the rest of the crew? We’re only within a half an hour of Atlas, and I got something that I want all of you to see.”

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on tumblr @ship-ambrosia, and yell at me about one of my many fandoms.


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